The Ramblings and Drabbles of Percy Jackson
by FreelyContained
Summary: Short stories of Percy and the crew, ranging from usual to just plain weird. Long ramblings, good grammar, and plenty of action, romance and finding themselves. Read and Review!
1. Death Boy and Water Don't Mix

**Title: **The Ramblings and Drabbles of Percy Jackson

**Rating: **T

**Disclaimer: **I do not own PJO, though I wish I did.

**Pairings: **Not that noticeable Thalico

**Summary: **It's summer, and the gang is suffering through an especially sweltering day. They all decide to have a water fight, and Nico, with some help, gets the upper hand.

**A/N: **Hey guys! This is FreelyContained and this is my first fanfic! Hope you like it. Read and Review!

10 Facts about Me

Initials: A.T.

ICEEs = Favorite food

My favorite actress is Emma Stone, second favorite is Olivia Wilde

Songs describing me right now: Shake it Out, Skinny Love, and Ho Hey

Me and my friends are big obsessers over the TV show _Psych_

On Fridays, we wear fuzzy socks

We also wear fedoras

Favorite genre of books: adventure/action (little romance is nice too :P)

I like the names Autumn, Paige, and Skye

Some of my favorite series: Sisters Grimm, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Mother-Daughter Book Club, and Maximum Ride

This fanfic will be random stories of Percy and the crew, ranging from random to just plain insane. Get ready for the ride!

Death Boy and Water Don't Mix

Nico was running for his life, but getting cramps from laughing so hard. Running from, if need clarifying, some very angry campers. He hadn't had this much fun until, well, Bianca. An arrow whizzed by his face, barely grazing his cheek.

"That was a warning shot, de Angelo! Wait till I get my hands on you!" Thalia shouted. Oh, what had he gotten himself in this time? But the look on their faces was priceless.

_Flashback:_

_ Nico panted in the heat, curled up in the only dark, cool shadow in the room. He hated summer. There was always so much… light. And the heat was unbearable. His face was beaded with sweat and was too exhausted to move. "You do know that wearing an black ensemble doesn't help the heat?" said a voice next to him._

_ He turned, and glared at Thalia. Most of the 'crew' (a name Leo had made up for all of them) was packed in the Poseidon cabin, with automatic fans that Piper had set up sweeping across the room. Everyone was trying to escape the heat, and where else better to go than the cabin of the sea? Nico had to admit; it was way cooler than it was in the other cabins, especially Apollo's. Even the Hades cabin was sweltering, much to his dismay._

_ Percy was passing around cool glasses of lemonade from his personal fridge (which Frank had insisted on turning into a chameleon and sitting in), Ella was spouting facts about the temperature outside, and Leo was out with the other Hephaestus kids trying to help other cabins control the heat wave. Juniper and Grover were off at a satyr meeting, though how they could survive in the heat, Nico didn't know. Even though Grover was "Lord of the Wild", he still hung around with the rest of them, especially with Percy and Annabeth. _

_Nico had suspected that Percy could very well be sitting underwater in the lake to cool off, but probably wanted to spend time with Annabeth. Nico internally rolled his eyes._

_ "100 degrees, 108 degrees, 102 degrees," Ella muttered, reading/tearing to shreds the next book she was reading: War and Peace._

_ Everyone sat in silence, too tired to do much anything else, groaning as the temperature would rise, and cheer half-heartedly as it would drop. Chiron had announced earlier that day that the heat wave was too risky to do any activities, so he had gave the day for the campers to cool off. No one complained._

_ Hazel thoughtfully sipped the lemonade from a straw. "Ella, do you have any ideas how we spend the day, coolly?" Hazel chuckled at her own joke. Being Leo's apprentice really rubbed off. _

_ "Coolly, cold, freezer ice cubes, stay hydrated, Sunny-D, refrigerator, ice cream, Baskin-Robbins 32, Teen Enthusiast: page 32, summer birthday bash, water balloon fight," Ella hastily replied, not tearing her eyes off the pages._

_ Piper perked up. "Hey, maybe we should have a water balloon fight!"_

_ "Great idea, Ella, Piper," Jason smiled. Piper blushed._

_ Percy grinned, obviously agreeing on this idea. "It shouldn't be restricted to just water balloons," he said mischievously. _

_ "Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up," interrupted Annabeth. "Having the son of the sea playing alone isn't exactly fair in a game like this." _

_ Nico agreed. "Neither is having a Hunter of Artemis." _

_ Percy and Thalia both crossed their arms, and huffed, in defense. "But that's what makes it fun!" Percy complained. _

_ "Well, we could divide into teams," Piper suggested. _

_ "This should be like capture the flag! I'll recruit the other cabins." Frank hopped out of the fridge and changed back into human form. _

_ Hazel stood up. "We should all go. I bet Chiron wouldn't mind," she skipped to Frank and took his hand._

_ "What! But this shadow, it's so… dark," Nico complained. _

_ Annabeth shoved him outside. "You could use the light, Death Boy. Besides, you'll be cool enough after the water games." _

_Percy glanced at Ella. "Could you find Tyson and stay with him as we go?"_

_ Ella shyly nodded. "Tyson. Ella go find Tyson. Show him War and Peace book." She flew off, leaving a red feather that landed on Frank's nose. Frank shook it off, and picked the feather up, tucking it in his pocket. He had grown quite a collection of Ella's feathers._

_ "We should go to the Big House first, and ask Mr. D and Chiron for permission. Then we split into groups to tell the other cabins, with Chiron." Jason planned. _

_ Everyone nodded at this idea, and then proceeded to go see Chiron. Nico trailed behind, wincing as the sun's rays penetrated him like Medusa. _

_ When they finally reached the Big House, they found Mr. D (with his Diet Coke as usual), Chiron, and Gleeson Hedge playing pinochle. Recently, Coach Hedge had taken a liking to the card game, and Nico was amazed at how he somehow held a baseball bat and his cards at the same time. Rachel, nearby, was drawing a scene of the game before her. The picture reminded Nico of the art piece 'Dogs Playing Poker'._

_ Rachel looked up from her sketch, surprised, but a grin made her way on her face. "Hey guys! Do you like my new drawing? I just have to put the finishing touches on it." _

_ "I think it should be called 'God, Satyr, and Centaur Playing Pinochle'." Nico suggested. _

_ "I second that opinion," Frank said, glancing at Rachel's new art piece._

_ Rachel laughed. "Thanks!" Rachel grabbed her can of Dr. Pepper (a habit picked up from Mr. D) and started chatting with Annabeth and Piper. Percy, Jason and Hazel were explaining their water fight idea, so Nico decided to listen in. _

_ "…It is really hot outside, and I bet the rest of the campers would like to stay cool too." Percy reasoned._

_ Jason took over. "It would be like capture the flag. If the Hephaestus kids already fixed the ACs, we can go ahead and go back to schedule, but this is a chance to have some fun." _

_ Chiron rubbed his chin, pondering over the idea. "Are you going to divide into teams?" _

_ "Yeah, and we were thinking we could get all the campers to participate," Hazel added in. _

_ "What do you think, Dionysus?" _

_ "Sure, whatever, water fights, blah blah blah." _

_ He turned back to them. "Then it's confirmed. I'll come with you to tell the other campers. Lunch is at 12:30 though." _

_ Percy and Jason celebrated with a fist-bump. Everyone cheered. Nico buried his head in his hands. _

_ "Why did I ever agree to this?" he questioned._

_ "You're not the only one who regrets this," Thalia said, smiling. "We know Percy will cream the rest of us."_

_ "I'm all in," Coach Hedge announced, spreading out his cards in one flourish to the center of the table. "Hey cupcake," he turned to Rachel, "show me that painting of yours after you're done. Hope you're getting my good side!"_

_ The crew split up to tell the rest of the cabins what was happening, and soon, everyone was gathered at the Dining Pavilion to start the games. _

_ Chiron stomped his hoof for attention. The cabins quieted. "The cabins will be divided in this way: The first team cabins are Zeus, Aphrodite, Demeter, Hephaestus, Athena, Hades, Hypnos, and Nike. The second are Poseidon, Apollo, Ares, Dionysus, Hermes, Eros, Fortuna, and Morpheus."_

_ Nico thought that the teams were pretty fair, and silently went to join his group, where Annabeth, Jason and Thalia were already planning. He sat down next Leo, who was fiddling with his nuts and bolts again. _

_ "Hey Nico, what brings you the Leo's Awesome Caravan of Awesome?" _

_ "Umm, self-absorbed much?"_

_ "Serious much? And you haven't met self-absorbed till you've met Narcissus."_

_ "What?" _

_ "Err, nothing. How's the heat on ya?" Leo changed the subject. _

_ Nico grumbled. "Don't get me started. I hate the light. Water's not exactly my best friend either."_

_ "Oh yeah, the Big Three stuff. Seriously dude, that sounds like a KFC special. By the way, the Hephaestus cabins just fixed the air conditioners. The Hades cabin is as cold and deathly as ever." Leo set his new creation in the air, a sheep helicopter, which promptly hovered to a snoring Hypnos kid, and started baaing and leaping around. _

_ "Thanks. I don't think I could stand to spend another minute in the sun." _

_ Annabeth appeared next to them. "Well, looks like you're going to have to spend at least an hour. Listen to our plan."_

_ Leo and Nico wearily made their way to the 'game plan' table. "What's the big deal with this water fight? It's not the hard to wrap your brain around. You fill up water balloons and chuck them at people." Leo whined. _

_ Thalia and Annabeth both gave him a cold stare. Leo shrugged. "I tried." _

_ Annabeth began. "We all know that Percy is on the other team, so we'll have to really work for this victory guys. Thalia will stay near the forests and trees, and shoot ice arrows at the first line of attackers, and then will be on offense. Hephaestus cabin, you stay at the edge of the clearing, near the creek. Provide the rest of us with water supplies. Make and use mechanicals to attack, and hold off the water with fire." Annabeth looked pointedly at Leo._

"_Demeter cabins, you go near the other forests, right around the second team and trap them all you want. Aphrodite and Hazel, you stay a bit ahead of the forests, but away from the lake, to the left side. Sneak in and attack." Piper giggled and high-fived Lacy. "Nike, Athena cabins and Jason, you're on offense. Split up into groups and stay quiet. There's a water supply nearby: I have a feeling the opponent will want to get a hold of that first. Don't let that happen." Annabeth had a glint in her eyes. "Hypnos and Nico, stay on the earth, summon sleep and hold back the invaders." _

"_You guys ready?" Thalia smirked._

"_Let's go kick some ass," Jason replied. _

_With one cheer of rally, the cabins all split up, and ran to the nearest water source, filling up on grenades to attack with. Hephaestus's cabin was probably the ones with the most ammo: they had filled up on about 10 bathtubs full of water. Nico, on the other hand, had just one water bomb. His water 'weapon' could easily blast 20 people with water. _

_Nico and Hazel hurried together to their positions. Hazel gave Nico one last reassuring smile, before running further to join the Aphrodite kids. Closing his eyes for what seemed like an eternity, the horn finally blew. _

_Hiding underneath a shady tree was great for a day like this: Nico just wanted to doze off like any self-respecting Hypnos. He heard a rustling nearby, which jolted him to alertness. Nico could sense the Stoll brothers, who were finding people to blast water with. He didn't want to know what kind of tricks they had up their sleeves._

_Concentrating, he formed a deep pothole in the earth, trapping the Stoll brothers, who shouted out in surprise. A water arrow landed on Travis, turning the once dirt ditch into a messy mud bath._

_Surprised, Nico spun around, and met the gaze of Thalia, who laughed and slunk back into the shadows. The process went like this for a while, Nico forming traps for any unsuspecting camper and Thalia shooting water arrows to snare them with mud. Soon, they had about 24 people trapped, going around the entire forest border. Nico was breathless from all the work, but Thalia, being immortal, didn't even break a sweat. _

"_Come on, let's play offense now." Thalia called out, leaping from the branch she was in. _

"_Didn't Annabeth want us to stay here?"_

"_Who ever listens to her?" Thalia joked. "Anyways, what's a water fight without getting blasted at with water? You can still trap people running." _

_Nico faltered, and quickly received a water arrow blown up in his face. He spluttered from shock. Scowling, he followed Thalia to the clearing. _

_Once they reached the creek, it was pure chaos. And that was saying something for the son of Hades. There was a fire-breathing dragon evaporating every water weapon thrown at him (who Nico assumed was Frank). Percy and Leo were having a huge battle, with Leo shouting the occasional "FLAME ON!" and Percy trying his hardest to douse him. _

_Battle cries were mixed with delighted laughter, and shouts of surprise. The Ares and Hephaestus cabins were countering each other with what which seemed like an endless supply of liquid weapons. The Athena and Dionysus cabins were also fighting – was that Diet Coke that the Dionysus cabins were using? Though Annabeth's plan was ingenious, it was impossible to see who had the upper hand. _

_Thalia sprung into action and shot 20 ice arrows in the blink of an eye, with scary precision. She froze half of the Ares kids, including Clarisse. Percy's eyes widened as he saw her. Annabeth also noticed Thalia and Nico, shaking her head, but looked relived for more help. _

_As he turned towards the creek, Nico noticed the huge cylinder-shaped tank. That must have been the water supply Annabeth was talking about. No one else seemed to be paying much attention to it. _

_Nico scrambled to the hill with the water tank, trapping anyone who tried to attack him with ditches. He had gotten hit with water a couple of times, but it was refreshing. Suddenly, a huge wave of water towered over all of them, and came down with a crash. After everyone recovered from the shock, Percy was hooting with laughter: He had soaked everyone except himself thoroughly with water. _

"_You should have seen the looks on your faces!" Percy was bent over from laughing so hard. _

_Thalia promptly pulled out an ice arrow and shot it at Percy, freezing him halfway. Percy, stunned, struggled against the ice. _

"_That's what you get. Every man – or woman for him or herself!" she yelled. _

_Percy smiled, and summoned warm water to melt the ice away from him and the other Ares kids, freeing everyone. "Then what are we waiting for?" _

"_Holy Hades," Nico muttered under his breath._

"_Let's get this party started!" Leo declared, setting his arms and hair on fire. _

_Everyone started throwing water like crazy, and in a matter of seconds, Camp Half Blood into a water park. With arrows, swords and other weapons as a bonus. Nico ran again towards the hill, but was at least a quarter of a mile away. The tank was on the opposite side of where he was. He decided that he could reach the water tank first. Hope Chiron doesn't mind him blowing it up. Hazel rode up to him with Arion, and held out her hand. "Need a ride?" _

_Ironically, this scene reminded him of the Underworld, where he had saved Hazel from the Fields of Asphodel. Except for this time, he was the one who needed 'rescuing'. Time slowed down around them, and Nico replayed that moment in his mind. He could tell that everyone was even more repelled by him ever since. _

_But there was no need to linger in the past._

_Nico nodded and got on Arion, who whinnied. _

"_You're going to the water tank right?" Hazel asked, throwing a grenade at Frank, which burst into a huge chain of water explosions. As the dragon turned in surprise, Hazel waved and blew him a kiss. _

_Nico looked at her wearily. "Aren't the terms 'every man for himself'?"_

"_Half siblings don't count."_

_Rolling his eyes, Nico explained. "I plan to pour everyone standing on the clearing with water from the hill. Percy and everyone else must have forgotten about the tank, or else it would have long gone by now. I was going to shadow travel, but I'm pretty exhausted," Nico gestured to the ditches._

"_Can I help?" _

"_Sure, as long as if Arion can get us up there," he purposely said, smiling. Arion snorted. It seemed like that horse always got the last word._

_Hazel summoned a gold nugget, and fed it to Arion. "Giddyup!"_

_Arion set off a deathly speed, and leapt over half of all the campers, much to the delight of both Hades kids. Other cabins (except for Percy) couldn't really handle riding on Arion, but Nico and Hazel loved it. A sonic boom sounded, and the world stopped stretching. They were both on the top of the hill, right next to the water reservoir. _

"_So… how are we going to blow this thing up?" Hazel walked around the tank, examining the metal. It was about 30 feet wide and 50 feet tall._

"_Actually, first, I wanted to do this." Nico catapulted his water bomb at Thalia, Percy and Leo, and easily soaked them with water. Thalia looked up in astonishment, and narrowed her eyes when she saw Nico. Leo's hair was gaining back its fire, and his eyes looked murderous. Percy was still in shock, shaking off the water from his hair. In some unspoken agreement, the three started running towards the hill. _

"_Uh oh." Hazel's eyes widened. "Maybe you shouldn't have done that." _

_Nico was about to get pulverized by three of the most powerful demigods at camp. Nico, Hazel and Arion quickly ducked behind the tank: a fire arrow zipped by where Nico was once standing. Huh. So Leo and Thalia had finally managed to get on good terms, just for now. _

"_This would be a good time to pour the water tank on everyone!" Hazel shouted. In her anxiety, a gorgeous diamond emerged out of the ground. Nico raised an eyebrow, knowing better than to pick it up. Hazel sighed, and then wrinkled her nose in focus of bring the diamond back down to the earth. _

"_Wait a minute. Hazel, summon the diamond again."_

_The diamond popped out again. Arion sniffed it, then turned his snout away in disgust. What a finicky eater. "Where are you going with this?"_

_Nico smiled, giving an even stronger aura of death. "Let's bust this tank." _

_He summoned some WWII skeletons, and directed one of them to use the diamond to cut the tank open, and the rest of them to push the tank over the hill. "And step on it!" Hazel added, eyeing the three demigods who were now approaching even closer._

_Soon, the tank was completely on its side, and the skeleton was hard at work carving the metal circle out. Percy, Thalia, and Leo were 20 feet from the hill. "Come on!" Suddenly a trickle of water streamed out of the tank, about ready to explode with water. The skeletons saluted at Nico, then melted back in the earth, returning to the Underworld. The angry demigods were now right at the edge of the hill. _

"_Hurry up, hurry up!" Nico fumbled around for his Stygian sword. Then a giant BOOM took the whole camp aback. _

_Water flowed out of the copper vat like crazy, carrying away Percy, Thalia and Leo, and all the other campers. Fresh gushes of water completely flooded the clearing and were starting to reside to the forest. A couple of screams and shouts were silenced by waves, and heads went underneath. When everyone eventually emerged, Nico and Hazel couldn't hold back laughter. Some of the Aphrodite kids were screaming at how their outfits were completely ruined. Percy roused the water back into the creek, though not wet. The Athena and Hephaestus cabins were still coughing water. Jason's lightning and Leo's fire was completely put out. Hermes's cabin was completely taken of all their pranks: weapons, globs of disgusting substances, and more materials from Prank Store Galore were scattered all over the place. Everyone regarded the hill where Nico and Hazel were standing. There was a moment of pure silence. _

"_Get them!" Percy suddenly yelled at to top of his lungs._

_The wave of demigod campers (pun intended) started running toward the hill. _

"_This is the time where we're supposed to panic, right?" _

_Hazel grinned. "I've got this one." She saddled up on Arion, and Nico jumped on behind her. "Giddyup!"_

_As the world blurred, Nico hardly registered the shouts and commotion behind him. The sonic boom sounded. Space and time were stretching out into multiple dimensions. Nico was almost afraid to ask Hazel where exactly they were going, fearing that his voice may be lost in time. They abruptly came to a stop, but the world still was spinning._

"_Where are we?" _

"_Someplace where they'll never find us." Hazel got off the horse. Arion immediately started munching on new blades of grass. _

"_Great. That clears things up." Nico grumbled. _

_Looking around, Nico noticed that they were in the forests once again. Nico gazed around the trees. Hazel had disappeared behind one of the oak trees. After a few minutes, her head popped out again. _

_Hazel gestured for him to follow her. "Come on, I need to show you something."_

_Nico trailed Hazel around the tree, underneath an especially prickly bush, and into a circular clearing. Looking up, he inhaled sharply._

_A grand octagonal tree house was perched on top of the arch of branches, supported by two soaring trees. The structure almost seemed like a hut, except that you could slide the roof in or out, so on starry nights, it would be perfect for stargazing. A 360-degree porch winded across, and a rope ladder hung out of the doorway. All around the trees, there were arrangements of colored leaves on frames made out of twigs and string. Between the two trees, a tire swing was hung, twisting slightly in a breeze. On the clearing floor, stray flowers and leaves were scattered around. It was a Demeter paradise. _

"_How…?" Nico managed to breathe out._

_Hazel grinned like crazy, obviously pleased at his expression. "Rachel and I worked on it since last year. We're the only ones who know about it, other than Frank and Leo. They helped with the building, and I thought that my half brother should be in on the secret. I consider it a secret hideaway." She ran over to the base of the tree and started shimmying up the ladder. _

_Nico followed suit, and he was eager for the view. It was amazing. You could see the whole camp from the porch, and Nico noticed the parade of campers, scrounging around the forests for Hazel and him. Smiling to himself, he then entered the hut, which displayed beautiful paintings that Nico assumed were Rachel's. A telescope was in the corner, and cushions were strewn everywhere. A round table was in the center of the room, with a small stack of books. The roof was open, and the branches of the trees swayed above._

"_Umm… could you close the roof?" Nico asked._

_Hazel rolled her eyes, but obliged, pressing a button on a remote control. That was probably Leo's doing. An AC automatically turned on._

"_Isn't Leo the kind of person who installs a dozen other things for his inventions?" _

"_Yes, but Rachel convinced him to make it more 'surreal and closer to nature'," Hazel explained. "It helps you escape other things. But he couldn't be held back that much." She pressed another button, and the walls slid out to reveal a whole food court._

_Nico's stomach growled. He hadn't noticed how hungry he really was until he smelt the popcorn. _

_Hazel walked over and started scooping herself and Nico a whole bagful. Nico joined her, and got himself about another dozen things to eat. The number of food carts was endless. Leo was a genius. _

"_You're worse than Frank," Hazel raised an eyebrow at his filled plate. She had gotten herself cotton candy and the bag of popcorn. Nico knew carnival food reminded Hazel of Sammy. _

_Nico shrugged. "I'm just taking advantage of this food court." He started digging in. The food was great, though the fries were a bit burnt. _

_After they finished, Hazel went outside to sit and draw with her colored pencils, leaving Nico in the shade of the hut. _

_The peace almost overwhelmed him. Nico decided to lean up against one of beanbags for some shuteye. As he told Percy once, "With great power… comes great need for a nap." There was no doubt about that. He made himself comfortable and started to drift off._

_Hazel shook Nico awake. Nico jolted back into alertness. "What did I miss?" he garbled._

_Nico followed her gaze out to the window. "They found us." _

_His eyes widened, and he scrambled out to the porch for a better view. On the edge of the clearing, he could make out Thalia raising one arm, as if leading the army of demigods forward and Percy with Mrs. O'Leary. _

"_Holy Hades." Nico turned to Hazel. "Is there something that'll protect us?"_

_Hazel was halfway in shaking her head no, but stopped. "Actually, we may have something." She smiled devilishly. _

"_You really need to stop hanging out with Leo."_

_Later, both of them were safe, thanks to the chicken nugget smoke screen. Hazel had to eventually turn the smoke screen to smell like something else, since though they were invisible, the hellhound had trailed them for another 50 meters. And yes, the tree house could fly. No biggie, though Nico had felt to need to puke too many times. Immediately after landing, this time near the beach, Nico ran out and headed straight for the bushes. _

_He stopped coughing though, when he felt an electric glow. He recognized that life anywhere._

_Whirred around, he faced Thalia. Time slowed down. For a split second, Nico debated if he should battle with the Hunter of Artemis. Looking again at the icy look that said 'I will personally kill you and tear you to shreds,' she was sending him; he decided that living sounded like a better idea. He started running._

_End of Flashback_

Which put him in this position now. Him running along the beach, with Thalia and the other demigods who had joined chasing him like crazy. He tried everything, ditches, darkness, everything a son of Hades would have up his sleeve. But no. They had to stick it out, and keep trying to kill him. And Chiron said that demigods were supposed to be there for each other.

Nico kept getting drenched with water from Percy, hit with Thalia's water arrows, and fireballs thrown dangerously close to his head. Danger sure did make you alert. His life was flashing through his eyes, just like they say in the movies.

But then, he saw his sister. Halting to a stop, the memories of his old life flooded back to him. Happy memories, ones of his mother, his sister, the excitement of being at Camp-Half Blood found its way. Life for the past four years had tired him. Maybe hope was really the only thing that mattered. Nico had held on tight to the grudges, and to be honest, he still hadn't forgiven Percy. But someday, he would learn.

Maybe the happy boy that loved Mytho-Magic and his sister, the carefree boy, was still somewhere in there.

The weight of his life seemed to lessen for a moment. Who did it? His father? His sister? He would never know to this day. He laughed, for the first time in too long, as he sprinted along the beautiful sand. Everyone seemed surprised at the sudden change of character in dubbed 'Death Boy'. Lying down, he let the campers corner him and lift him high above their heads, preparing to throw him into the ocean. He smiled, and let go.


	2. The Art of Being Maximum Ride Fans

**Title: **The Ramblings and Drabbles of Percy Jackson

**Rating: **T (just in case)

**Disclaimer: **Rick Riordan owns all.

**Pairings: **The usual, with Leo still crazy and single.

**Summary: **In this second chapter, Annabeth and Piper learn about the book series _Maximum Ride_, and compare the characters to their gang. Other books are discovered, and Hazel gets her hands on some 21st century music.

**A/N: **Hey guys! I'm back, hope you liked the last chapter. It would really help my writing if you could… REVIEW! Here's another short (ish) story. Below are 10 facts about me. Thanks!

10 Facts About Me

Racism really ticks me off

My "song" is We Are Young by Fun.

Science is my favorite subject

I wish I was outgoing and social like this friend I have

My mind is so full of randomness and crazy that I never share with anyone

I'm pretty good at drawing manga

My favorite restaurant is Chipotle

When a song gets stuck in my head, I can't help singing it out loud

Converses are my kicks

The fictional character who I am most like is Hazel, from the Heroes of Olympus, or Bex, from Gallagher Girls.

The Art of Being Maximum Ride Fans

Annabeth spread out all her designs for her latest project. Ever since she had visited New Rome, her brain had been literally crammed with ideas and inspiration. She had missed the rest of her cabin ever since the quest and prophecy. The rest of the seven didn't really relate to architecture like she did, except for Leo. But even he was a long shot. As she sketched, she thought of her friends, and wondered what they were doing.

_Solve the equation there, check with 3-D model, and sketch out on graph paper._

Percy had once told her that she sometimes 'lost' herself in this process of designing and learning. Annabeth was too stubborn to actually admit it out loud, but she did get absorbed in her work. But not in the way Percy thought. Sometimes, while working, her mind wandered off to everyday things. As Annabeth scrunched up her eyebrows, working on an especially hard equation, when she heard a knock at the door.

Piper popped her head in. "Hey Annabeth! Working on another design?"

"Yep. I got lots of inspiration from New Rome."

Annabeth noticed Piper slightly stiffened. Reyna and New Rome wasn't exactly Piper's thing. She decided not to elaborate.

"So, can I do anything for you?" Annabeth smoothly moved on. She was used to being the consultant for anything 'brainy', as Frank put it.

"I was wondering if you would go to the library with me," Piper paused, as if unsure of Annabeth's reaction.

Annabeth was surprised. In all her years at Camp Half-Blood, no one had ever asked her to go to the library outside her cabin. Maybe things _were_ changing at camp. Besides, she could use a break.

"Of course! Are you bringing anyone else?"

Piper stepped aside to reveal Frank, Leo, and Hazel standing outside.

Grinning wickedly, Leo waved. "We're all along for the ride!"

Annabeth glanced at Hazel. She shrugged.

"Let's go, then." Piper led the way to the arts and crafts, with the rest of them trailing behind. As they walked, they all started talking.

"I didn't even know there was a library," Frank said.

"Most people don't. I bet that even Percy doesn't." Annabeth smiled.

Leo smirked. "Even_ I_ knew that. I haven't been there in a while though. I think I owe about 42 golden drachmas."

"_42 _drachmas?" Hazel exclaimed.

"Last time I checked."

"Where are all the books?"

"Umm, in my cabin room?"

There was a solemn silence as everyone acknowledged that those books would never see the light of day ever again.

"Anyway, I'm going to have to hide from the librarian," Leo continued. "And I'm relying on this invention I made."

"Nice going, repair boy."

"Whatever you say, Beauty Queen." Piper gave him a deadly glare, and Leo held up his arms in defense. "Just joking!"

Frank kept firing questions. "How big is it?"

"It has one floor, but it's pretty big. You'll see when we get there." Annabeth turned to Piper. "So, I'm curious, why'd you want to visit the library?"

"Well, I was kinda bored of everyone in the Aphrodite cabin," Piper looked around, as if to check if anyone else was listening. "So I decided to let go for a while, and read some books in peace."

Annabeth nodded. She too, liked to go to the library just to escape the worries and pressure. Living with at least ten other Aphrodite kids wasn't exactly leading a stress-free life.

When they reached the arts and crafts center, Annabeth gestured them to follow her past the area outside where other demigods were painting the scenery and into the main room. Frank and Hazel were looking around, obviously amazed at the vast variety of crafts all the campers were making. A miniature theater was on the west side of the room, and all around, drawings and portraits of various scenes in Camp-Half Blood were hung. Continuous glass windows overlooked the lake on the east. On the ceilings, painted constellations of the night sky looked down upon the busyness. Circular tables and benches were set around the auditorium, and there seemed to have an endless supply of art supplies and canvases. Hazel stopped, and fingered an especially wide variety of colored pencils.

"These are so pretty," she murmured, mesmerized by the shades of green. ADHD did have its moments.

"Come on, Hazel, we're almost there!" Leo seemed even more excited for the revelation of his new invention.

Frank nudged her along. "We can stop by later. The library sounds really amazing."

Piper was observing one of the paintings on the wall. It was of the Fireworks beach, on one of its majestic sunsets. "Wow, that looks exactly like the shore! Who drew that?"

"It was probably Rachel. She's a really good painter," Annabeth guessed.

Annabeth was very proud of her friend's artwork. Rachel and Annabeth were particularly close ever since she and Percy had fell into Tartarus. She was the one person who kept her sane afterwards, and Annabeth had returned the favor by helping Rachel during her 'oracle moments'.

"That makes sense." Piper had met Rachel before, the Oracle. They were quite acquainted, but their conversations weren't outside the usual group. Piper made a mental note to try to know her better.

Leo strutted up to the head of the group. "_Vamonos! _Let's go!" Then he skipped off, heading towards the two doors that led to the library.

"Please tell me he didn't say that," Frank groaned. Hazel took his arm and started skipping for the door. Piper grinned, and started catching up to Leo. They all started to have a skipping contest.

Annabeth shook her head. Her friends were so weird. She followed them, skipping along the way.

Leo and Piper had halted to a stop when they reached the door. Annabeth made her way over, and pushed the oak doors open. Piper turned and smiled at Hazel and Frank, anticipating their expressions. "This is the library."

The library never failed to be breathtaking every time you visited, even though Annabeth had been there multiple times. The room was not as large as the main auditorium, but grand nonetheless. Books rowed the whole room from the ground all the way up to the ceiling. Ladders leaned against the wooden shelves. Tall windows filled up the spaces were books weren't, giving in natural light for readers. Chairs and rugs spotted the room, where kids were quietly reading.

A fireplace was in one of the corners of the rooms, with comfy chairs arranged around a coffee table. In the corner of her eye, Annabeth saw Frank wince, even though there was no fire.

"Holy timbits, that's a lot of books." They gazed around, trying to take all of it in.

Hazel nodded in agreement. "Where do all these books come from?"

"Before the Prophecy of Seven, there were old books from the Greek myths. "The rest," Annabeth gestured at the shelves. "Complements of the Amazons."

Ella was sitting at the recipient desk, was bent over yet another book, absorbing the words like a sponge.

"Hey Ella," Frank attempted.

"Words. Words. Betty's Crocker's Cookbook, page 11: Eggs, flour, whipped cream, sugar, salt." Ella shut the cover of her book, _The Lorax_, and started shredding _Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus_.

"Umm, okay. I'll be going now." Frank shuffled away.

"Woah. There's a coffee shop? How did I not notice that the first time?" Leo darted over, slapped down a crumpled 5-dollar bill and ordered a cake pop, brownie, and a sugar bomb. "With extra whipped cream," he added, jumping from foot to foot.

Piper's and Hazel's eyes widened, and both dragged Leo away from the stand. A seriously hyper Leo was the last thing any of them needed on their hands. The last time Leo had coffee, he blasted up the arena, burnt up the climbing wall, and destroyed many other things in his path. Giving Leo coffee was like setting dynamite on a time bomb.

Leo protested, but the girls managed to hold him down in a chair farthest from the aroma of coffee beans. Soon, Frank had introduced him to the books about technology, and Leo was sucked in.

"Thank Gods." Hazel breathed out.

Annabeth shook her head. "It's like baby-sitting."

Leo popped his head from the magazine he was reading. Though all of them did have dyslexia, pictures calmed them down. "I heard that! Though you guys are way better than Tia Callida."

Everyone rolled his or her eyes at this, though Annabeth felt a pang of sadness for him. She knew what a messy childhood felt like.

Piper and Hazel had decided to walk over to the action/adventure section and Frank was trailing Leo to the video games. Annabeth made herself comfortable with books on architecture.

In one of the books, she was once again marveling over Daedalus' inventions. She knew if she tried to explain this stuff to Percy, his eyes would glaze over, and even Malcolm, her second-in-command, had his limits. _This is how Athena must feel, _Annabeth thought. _To have all this wonder and knowledge filled in your brain, but having no one to share it to. _

A tap on her shoulder brought her out of her mulling.

"What is it now, Piper? You stole my breakfast already." Annabeth moaned.

Piper held out a thick novel in front of her face. The cover was tainted blue, with a teenage girl with wings on the cover. Focusing, Annabeth could make out the words. _The Angel Experiment_. Underneath that, the author's name: _James Patterson._

The saying 'don't judge a book by its cover' floated its way to her brain, but she wasn't in the mood. "Nah. It looks kind of… creepy."

Piper shook the book even more. "I said that the first time I saw it, but it's really good! You've got to read this." Behind her, Hazel nodded in agreement.

"I take credit for finding it. You'll enjoy it," she insisted.

Annabeth didn't budge. "_Please?_" The two demigods insisted. When she still wouldn't give in, they made puppy-dog eyes. She caved.

"Alright, I'll read the first few chapters." Annabeth snatched the book from Piper's hands. "But I won't enjoy it!"

The smile she received from the two of them could have lit up the whole room. "I would have used my charm speak anyway. Read it out loud!"

Annabeth sighed, and flipped to the first page of the novel. "If you dare to read this story, you become part of the experiment. I know that sounds a little mysterious - but it's all I can say right now. Max. The funny thing about facing imminent death is that it really snaps everything else into perspective..."

_2 hours later…_

Piper ended the book with a thud. The five demigods, including Leo and Frank, (who had joined the story-time out of curiosity) had taken turns reading out loud. It was weird how James Patterson could capture the adventure adrenaline so well. A quiet settled over the group, as all of them sat thinking.

Hazel broke the silence. "When we read, I could relate some of the characters to us."

"Yeah! I thought that Fang was a lot like Nico, and Chiron could be Jeb." When Piper saw everyone's freaked out faces, she added, "In a twisted way."

"Nico is like Fang. They wear black, lurk in the shadows…" Hazel trailed off.

Annabeth's eyes widened. "What if Fang turned evil?"

All the girls (and Leo) gasped. Frank rolled his eyes.

Gaining his composure, Leo leaned back on a beanbag. "Well, I for one think I'm a lot like Gazzy. I like to think I'm a ball of hotness."

Frank smirked. "Yeah, a hot ball of gas!"

Everyone except for Leo laughed at this, and received a hush from Ella. Leo sniffed, his pride hurt.

"Izzy is like Frank, Angel like Annabeth, and Max… I don't really know who Max would be." Piper looked around for ideas.

They pondered this for a moment, but then decided it could be open ended. Nico still hadn't found a girlfriend, but Annabeth overheard that Piper planning to get him and Lacy together. She liked being not single.

"Max has serious anger-management issues." Frank said.

"I think Beauty Queen is Nudge. Talkative, chatty, brown-haired…" Leo promptly received a pillow thrown in his face.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to read the rest of the books," Piper sweetly said, though the look she was sending Leo was the complete opposite.

Distractedly, Frank nodded, replaying the conversation in his mind. "Wait, if I was Izzy, and Leo was Gazzy, wouldn't that mean that we would be like, tight?" He coughed on the last word.

Leo's eyes widened, then stood up and headed for the coffee stand. Annabeth pulled him down again.

'It's pretty uncanny to how they have wings and all," she said.

The mechanic brightened. "I'm going to invent one of those." Annabeth paled, remembering Daedalus in one of her adventures.

"They should make a movie!" Piper exclaimed. "I would love to get the soundtrack."

Hazel frowned. "I really want to know what's all the buzz about music. I mean, missing at least fifty years of the world does leave you out of the loop."

Annabeth shared a quick glance with Frank. His eyes said, _Help me! _In response, she turned to Hazel. "Do you want me to show you around the music center?"

"Sure! That would be great."

Soon, both girls found themselves in front of a computer, with stacks of music CDs in front of them. Annabeth was deep in explaining the technology.

"So this is the monitor, and it show images that you click on using this mouse," she rattled on. Fortunately, Hazel was a quick learner, and soon was handier with a computer than most campers.

She clicked on one of the songs on ITunes, and plugged in red headphones. Hazel closed her eyes. "Wow. It's so different from jazz."

The corners of Annabeth's mouth lifted a bit. "No kidding. In pop music, they use technology and computers, to change the pitch and to add cool effects."

Hazel asked Annabeth a question, still not opening her eyes. "What's your favorite genre of music?"

Surprised, Annabeth had to think for a moment. "Probably the old songs, like the Beatles and the Eagles. But some songs now have really good lyrics."

The curly-haired girl laughed. "I like this song. But I think jazz will still be my beat."

"Old habits die hard, right?"

"Yep."

They sat there trying out new albums, and had a bunch of fun. Hazel liked Bruno Mars and Jason Mraz, while Annabeth preferred Coldplay and Kelly Clarkson.

Leaning over to see what Hazel was listening to; Annabeth caught a glimpse of a harpy (who she assumed was the librarian) chasing Leo, who was fumbling around for his invention that was supposed to "save" him. Annabeth stifled a full-on burst of laughter, but Hazel, hearing, looked to see what was going on. Soon, the two girls were bent over from laughing. Leo was still running around the library, occasionally tripping and stepping on people, and trying to get away from the bill that the harpy was waving around.

Suddenly, Leo pulled out a cloth that Annabeth couldn't see, and dived behind a beanbag. The librarian, confused, squawked in protest, and flew around the room twice, but then gave up to file some magazines.

"Psst!" Annabeth nearly flew out of her chair. Apparently, Hazel heard the voice too, because she was now jerking her head around, looking for where the voice came from.

"Don't give me away!" said a way too familiar voice. Leo. Annabeth and Hazel both spun around in their chairs to met the gaze of the boy, cloaked in something invisible. Leo's head shook out from out of nowhere. The background rippled as he shifted from foot to foot. "Could you, uh, maybe move over? This cloak's kinda heavy, and I wanted to use the computer." Leo lazily grinned.

Sharing a look, Hazel and Annabeth begrudgingly shifted over for the 'Repair Boy'.

"Thiswas your invention?" Annabeth asked, raising an eyebrow. "Not very original, Leo."

He blushed. "I was obsessive over _Harry Potter _at the time," he defended.

Hazel reached a hand out to feel the fabric. "It's cool, how the scene changes. It reminds me of Hades' robe."

Annabeth had to admit; the cape was pretty awesome. She couldn't help but stare at it, wondering how Leo did it. She would ask, of course, but as an inventor, Leo was often secretive about his projects. Annabeth tried staring at it to find an outline, anything, to no avail.

In silence, the three demigods quickly went back to their tasks. Leo was typing madly in his craze, Hazel leaned back and enjoyed Whitney Houston, while Annabeth went back to her architecture book.

She glanced at the fiction section. It wouldn't hurt…

Annabeth flipped open the next Maximum Ride book.


End file.
